Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) and three others were indicted today by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on corruption charges linked to a failed solar energy project.
Prosecutors said that Sufin accepted NT$5 million (US$152,590) in bribes to pressure the Southern Region Water Resources Branch of the Water Resources Agency to restart a project to build a floating solar power station on Pingtung County’s Mudan Reservoir (牡丹水庫).
Via his office director, surnamed Hung (洪), Sufin accepted the bribes in 2019 and 2020 under the guise of political campaign donations, the office said.
Photo: CNA
It pressed charges against Sufin and Hung under the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) for taking bribes in exchange for performing official duties.
Business developers surnamed Tsai (蔡) and Chih (池), along with a former development manager of Maiora Renewable Energy Co surnamed Hsieh (謝), were also indicted under the act for offering bribes to public officials without requiring them to violate their official duties.
Upset that the legislator could not pay back the entire kickback when the project failed to materialize, Tsai reported Sufin to the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau, prosecutors said.
His confession and cooperation in the case led prosecutors to recommend that Tsai receive a reduced or waived sentence.
Sufin was previously sentenced to eight years and six months in prison in a separate corruption scandal for accepting bribes from Pacific Distribution Investment Co over ownership of the Pacific SOGO Department Store chain.
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